Wednesday, January 01, 2014

STUFF THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN, ACCORDING TO THE RIGHT-WING MEDIA

If you get into an argument with a right-winger on pretty much any subject having to do with domestic politics -- racism, gun control, the economy -- you'll be told that Chicago is an out-of-control urban hellscape and therefore definitive proof that liberal/Democratic policies are a miserable failure.

CHICAGO -- A year after this city, the third largest in the United States, drew national notice for its staggering number of homicides, killings have slowed here....

In 2012, Chicago witnessed more than 500 killings.... As of Dec. 30, Chicago had reported 413 homicides, a 17 percent drop from the same period a year before and the fewest killings to date since 1965, city officials said.

Shootings were also down by about 24 percent in 2013 from a year earlier, and reports of crimes over all had dropped by about 16 percent....

... a Yale University analysis says that despite Chicago's grim numbers, the city's crime rate is not exceptional when compared with other large cities. It ranks Chicago 19th, with violent crime levels similar to those of Houston or Minneapolis, and half that of Detroit or St. Louis.

The largest population increases over the year were in Texas (387,397 people), California (332,643) and Florida (232,111).... California this year became the first state to top 38 million residents, with a population of 38,332,521....

Oh, and the states in the bottom 15 in terms of population growth for 2013 include Wisconsin, Kansas, Mississippi, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico -- all with right-wing/tea party governors. So what's the pattern?